Farming Games are All About Grinding

"Little Spark, hurry up! If we're late, it's all over." Han Qiwu shouted toward Little Spark while simultaneously activating Ice Phoenix Wings to dash forward.

They couldn't let these Fire Mantises consume and evolve further.

Just one round of devouring evolution earlier had made their attacks capable of breaking defenses.

If they completed a second round, it might truly prove fatal to Little Ice.

Hearing the command, Little Spark immediately sensed the urgency in Han Qiwu's tone.

"Swish"

Electric light flickered in Little Spark's eyes as golden electric energy covered its body, its two wings vibrating rapidly.

"Zoom"

Han Qiwu watched as Little Spark transformed into a streak of lightning, appearing behind the large rock in an instant.

Taking advantage of the lingering electric field, Little Spark unleashed a high-pressure electric field.

Behind the rock, a partially evolved Fire Mantis, now burning with flames, was larger than before with blade arms stretching over two meters. In the middle of feeding, it noticed Little Spark and angrily swung its blade with force.

Unfortunately, its strike wasn't fast enough.

Not fast enough to surpass the high-pressure electric field.

"Crackle-Zap"

The Fire Mantis convulsed uncontrollably within the electric field, performing an involuntary jittery dance.

As Han Qiwu arrived, so did Xiao Lai, who quickly expelled a stunning mist to immobilize it.

"Well done, Little Spark!" Han Qiwu gave a thumbs-up and said, "Remember this thumbs-up, next time you can exchange it for some tasty treats."

"Tweet-tweet!"

A weakened but elated Little Spark nodded fervently.

Finally, Little Ice arrived swiftly and punctured it into white light with two precise strikes.

Mission complete.

A pity—such a powerful Fire Mantis, close to completing its second devouring evolution, dissolved into white light like that.

In the Fire Mantis species, consuming evolutions only happened during crises, and once fully evolved through a second enhancement, a Fire Mantis could reach level 95 with devastating attack power.

If it had succeeded, Little Ice might have been finished.

Seeing the white light, Han Qiwu let out a sigh of relief and walked over to pick up the loot.

Approaching it, he saw the drop resembled the blade arm of the Fire Mantis—long and wide.

[Mantis Blade Arm]

[Use: Summon]

[How to Use: Upon picking up, can control Mantis-type insects within 50 meters for three hours (invalid in mines)]

[Remaining Uses: 1]

[Note: Fire Mantises possess an exceptionally strong summoning power]

"Is that it?" Han Qiwu frowned slightly.

Invalid in mines.

What was the point of controlling mantises outside?

Couldn't be for chopping people, could it?

"If you're a bro, call the mantises to chop people?"

Such weird logic.

Glancing at Little Ice nearby, Han Qiwu contemplated whether it was because Little Ice's spider legs were too dark.

Next time, he would try finishing off the target himself.

Little Ice: "…You're calling me out for being dark now?"

Picking up the Mantis Blade Arm, Han Qiwu hurried toward the large rock in the center of the mining zone and occupied it.

[Fire Mantis Tribe has been eradicated. Would you like to occupy the current mining zone?]

[Current Mining Skill Level: 5, Maximum Mining Zones: 5, Current Mining Zones Occupied: 4]

[Mining Zone: 86th Layer of the Mine - Basic Iron Ore/Stone Mining Zone]

[Total Mining Zone Capacity: Iron Ore ×150, Stone ×465]

[Daily Output: Iron Ore ×20, Stone ×40]

[Abandoning the mining zone will revert it back to normal mining mode]

This mining zone was different from previous ones; it mainly produced ordinary iron ore, but also yielded stone.

The demand for Flame Iron Ore wasn't particularly high right now, so stockpiling some stone would be perfect.

Plus, the daily output was quite high, with ample stone reserves.

Not bad.

Occupy.

[Occupation successful. Remaining available mining zone slots: 0. To occupy additional mining zones, abandon currently occupied zones.]

Seeing this prompt, Han Qiwu found it rather considerate.

Later, if he descended deeper into the mine layers, he would undoubtedly find better mining zones to swap out for.

However, after exterminating the Fire Mantises this time, no staircase had been revealed, meaning the only way to leave was to search elsewhere.

Just then, a crashing sound echoed from afar, growing louder.

Han Qiwu immediately sensed something amiss, recalled Little Ice, and charged toward the cable car with all his strength.

Flying alongside him, Little Spark tilted its head to listen but couldn't pick up on anything unusual—perhaps just some random mine creatures.

Freshly victorious against the Fire Mantises, Little Spark felt a bit smug.

No matter how strong the enemies were, they couldn't possibly surpass the mighty electric field!

"Stop listening and focus on running," Han Qiwu urged, prioritizing caution as he sprinted toward the cable car.

Soon, the crashing sound morphed into a roaring tide. The mine layer's temperature steadily increased, and from the ends of other passages, molten lava could be seen freely flowing, engulfing everything—stone and mine creatures alike—in its path.

Luckily, Han Qiwu reacted swiftly. Including the distance they'd gained by running earlier, they managed to dive into the cable car just ahead of the lava!

As soon as they entered, the molten lava slammed heavily against the large rock beside the cable car.

"Tweet-tweet."

Little Spark patted its chest in relief.

It had nearly become roast bird.

As the cable car began to move, two messages appeared before Han Qiwu:

[You encountered the rare phenomenon: Medium Mine Molten Lava Overflow]

[Medium Mine Molten Lava Overflow: A multi-layer mine disaster, occurring at most once daily. If engulfed by lava, life value drops to zero, and 40% of current mine yield as well as certain storage items are randomly lost.]

"A disaster again." Han Qiwu leaned back against the cable car, gasping for air.

The penalties for medium disasters were quite harsh—even existing storage items could be lost.

If Little Ice were wiped out in the chaos, he'd suffer a massive loss.

Still, he wasn't too worried. After all, his storage had a Molten Lava Eel tucked inside. If things got dire, he'd eat it and swim to the cable car while holding Second Pet.

Back on the first level of the mine, Han Qiwu decided against descending further.

Medium disasters occurred across multiple layers of the mine—risking opening a door to find nothing but lava would be fatal.

Today's haul wasn't bad anyway.

Better to try again another time.

Glancing at the nearby Explorer Guild, Han Qiwu decided to go in and chat with Egger and Sister Jin Tu.

Maybe ask about perfume-making techniques.

Entering through the door, Han Qiwu immediately felt the atmosphere was a little odd.

The couple seemed to be having an argument.

Sister Jin Tu, behind the bar, carried a furious expression, while Egger stood beside her, helplessly at a loss. Whenever he tried to step forward and say something, she'd shut him down with a raised hand before he could speak.

"Why don't you cool off somewhere else? Not cool enough, huh? The freezer next door is colder than this—want me to open the door for you?"

"No, no need."

Regretfully retreating to his original spot, Egger caught sight of Han Qiwu and visibly lit up, quickly rushing over to seek help.